Oh Canada/Shut up and Drive

Happy Sunday everyone!

I would like to start this weeks' post with a little song I like to call my national anthem.

*Ahem*

"Oh Canada, our home and native land. True patriot love, with all thy sons command..."

You know the rest - or at least you should! Today makes the second time you should have heard it as the men's olympic hockey team took gold over the Swiss in a 3-0 victory. Our women's hockey team also took gold against, our southern neighbours, the United States in a 3-2 victory just days before. Being Canadian, everyone else in the world believes that I play or played hockey and that I should somehow, be immune and enjoy cold weather.  Those are misconceived notions that I will live the rest of my life having to disprove. A little tidbit about todays' early morning gold medal game: the city of Toronto council voted and approved bars to start serving alcohol at 7am in the order for spectators to enjoy the monumental hockey game. Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue beers for breakfast? Don't you wish you were from Toronto?

Downtown Toronto, ON after the Gold medal game

Okay, enough gloating and boasting. Let's look at a few differences in regards to driving overseas and driving back home.  For starters, as mentioned in previous posts, driving a manual car in as opposed to driving an automatic will be an adjustment for many.  Prior to my first contract in Spain, my agent advised me in the months leading up to my departure to practice and at least get comfortable with the basics.  Needless to say, I was TURRIBLE. [Insert Charles Barkley voice.] Getting from stationary to first gear was the most difficult change of gears because it required the most precision, a delicate touch and a keen sense of balance between clutch and gas.  If you do not complete a smooth exchange of releasing the clutch and applying gas, you'll do what I did repeatedly: stall out!  Even worse than stalling out from being parked is stalling out on a inclined road...with angry drivers behind you...hooking their horns and perhaps screaming curse words in their native tongue at you. 

*Deep Sigh*

It happens to the best of us.  Last year in the small town of Càceres, Spain, I would go out in the late night to hone my skills. There weren't many vehicles on the road at that time so it was then where I was able to build my confidence and apply it to day time driving without any pressure. A few times of getting comfortable with the clutch, getting from 1st to 2nd gear on a hill and parallel parking - I think it's safe to say I'm somewhat of a pro these days.

Next on my rant is topic of size! If you think back to any old European film clips you may have caught growing up, I'm quite sure you remember seeing vary narrow lanes and/or vehicles that resembled more of a go-kart rather than a Ford Focus.

Evreux, France

Many roads like this would be an assumed 1-way street in most North American cities, but here this is a 2 lane road with bilateral traffic.  The sole reason why streets like these can allow for the 2-way traffic is thanks largely in part to the vast number of compact and economy sized vehicles.  Below I have gathered a collage of a few smart-car-esque sized cars throughout the city.

With the average price of gas in France being €1.52 per liter, you can see why such smaller vehicles are more common than typical large sedans or SUVs found stateside.  I see a lot of people walking throughout the town (especially the elderly) and many others using other means of transportation such as scooters and motorcycles.

Last but not least, let's discuss location and placement.  At many street lights in my town of  Evreux, street lights are not suspended high above but are placed at eye level on electricity poles. I understand the logic but when you're the first car at the intersection and you're looking up for a green light and the lane beside you begins moving, well you guessed it. You'll hear the sounds of horns behind you and you'll catch a few hostile gestures if you peek in the rear view mirror. You will receive this kind of treatment when 1) driving slow in a unfamiliar city such as Paris and 2) doing so while trying to locate street names.  For the most part, many street signs are not as they are back home and you will not find them attached to a pole. What you will find are signs with street names plastered onto buildings that happen to be on that particular street. Once again, I can kind of understand the logic but I would simply prefer things to be like they are back home in North America. But that's wishful thinking and that's what makes the experience of working overseas such a memorable one. Stepping out of your comfort zone, adapting to a new lifestyle, engaging in a new culture is all apart of the it - you just didn't see it written in the contract. U.N.E.N.O.

Until the next my fellow readers, 

Thank you for the support thus far.  Feedback is always welcome. Please leave any comments or questions below or feel free to contact me at oluash@gmail.com

Olu

#OWACO

P.S. I was dead on with my 2014 All Star Game prediction! The Eastern Conference took that in clean fashion but I did not foresee Kyrie Irving winning the MVP.

Fashionistas

Welcome back to Overseas With A Carry On!

In our short time together, I've been known to post a write-up every other Sunday but last Sunday was a little different. There happened to be this once-a-year phenomenon known as the Superbowl that took place. Everything plays second fiddle to this media frenzy and I, understanding the magnitude of this, decided to delay the update for a week.  With the previous Richard Sherman hoopla, the legendary Peyton Manning being apart of his third Superbowl and the NFL's best offense against the best defense left for much to write and read about. With that said, I watched the first half of the game and I remembered a few things: 1) I stayed up late to watch it and I do not recall any of the commercials.  2) The Broncos were shutout the entire first half and Bruno Mars is no Beyonce when it comes to halftime performances. Not so "Super" after all.

Back to business, when it comes to fashion, I'm no Maison Martin Margiela, Comme des Garçons or Alexander Mcqueen wearing type of fellow. At my size and with the length of my arms, often times I'm not left to choose my clothing.  It's more of, "This is what we have left in our big & tall section - good luck." As a collegiate athlete, typically the only events that required anything beyond sweats were end of the year team banquets. A few years back the NBA made a bold change that required a certain dress code when traveling to and from games. Some did not like the change; others praised it. Over here in Europe, some teams may or may not have a certain "game day dress code;" so you are at liberty to dress as you wish. With my particular club, we have a VIP session after each home game which is designed as more of a meet & greet for fans and sponsors of the team. We are required to wear something along the lines of jeans and a sweater/dress shirt/polo shirt.  Avery loose dress code if any. But, with us being here in France and perhaps our proximity to a fashion capital such as Paris, a few of my teammates seem to consistently outdo themselves.

Here we have 2 of top 3 best dressed guys on the team.  The top picture features shooting guard Kingsley with a nice ensemble of the dress shirt and a tie underneath the 'Bill-Cosby-esque' cardigan sweater.  On the court, he is a fearless player on both ends of the floor; he always provides a spark for us off the bench!

Next we have our reserve point guard Bryan who never fails to step outside of the box with his clothing here. Here we have a similar pairing of shirt and tie with Bryan goes with the ever so dapper bow tie.  It works well with his stocky frame.  He also chooses to keep the jet black cardigan unbuttoned and leaves the shirt untucked (quite the rebel). Finally, the handbag sets it all off. It gives him the look of having something important to do - don't be fooled. He was en route to the same place all the other underdressed gents (like myself) were headed to after the game! On the court he is perhaps the best defender I have played with.  He is an opposing point guards' nightmare the way he defends and picks up full court. Oh, hehe, if you're wondering what yours truly wears to post game affairs, you'll have to wait until I appear on the red carpet or at the ESPY's.

In other news, let's speak about the NBA All Star Weekend. We all know I like to dunk but I personally am not the best when it comes to slam dunk contests. I have a few tricks up my sleeve but the joy I get from dunking is not to show off my dunks; it's simply to hammer it down over top of a defender or defenders who have the intestinal fortitude to think they can oppose me. See below for a visual...

The Slam Dunk contest for sure has been under scrutiny over the past few years, that's no secret. In my opinion, it's because the superstars these days are reluctant to participate.  The most physically gifted player walking this earth named Lebron James is the one player that EVERYONE wants to see participate, but those cries have gone to no avail. This year features teams of dunkers based on conferences.  There will be no outright slam dunk champion, but a winning team and then a separate 'dunker of the night'.  The list of atrocities continue. You can view the complete list here. Finally, the All Star T-shirts, sorry, jerseys are simply an ugly idea. The majority of the players have admitted their disapproval of them. I hope they get phased out similar to the way introducing a new game ball did a few years ago.

I predict the East will win the All Star Game. Just my humble opinion. Don't go bet on it and lose 10 million like Floyd Mayweather!

Until next time my fellow readers! 

P.S. If there are questions or topics you would like me to touch upon, please leave a comment or send me an email at: oluash@gmail.com.  Feedback is always welcomed. Thank you.

Olu

#OWACO